DCF Mexico

[Marisol73 0]

Hi again pnewton:

Thats great news to hear about the speed of the procees due to the insecurity in Mexico.

About the documents translated:

I started the process for my baby son . I will do my husband in a few months I hope...so what I submit translated was:

1) Birth Certificate of my son

2) My Birth Certificate (because Im mexican by birth and american by naturalization, so I have to prove dual citizenship)

3) Marriage Certificate

As ID for my son I took his mexican passport. So you can do the same with your soon-to-be husband.

So I think you just need the translation of the Marriage Certificate. (They dont ask for birth certificate in case of the husband)

Good Luck

[Lia792 5]

Jaremedios,

You can see how long they will keep the petition alive for. It should just take an occasional email to get them to hold onto it and I think we had figured out it may be at least a year or two, but you could always get lucky.

He got the green card and now it just means that that is the official documentation and the one in the passport is just the temporary one. We are still waiting for his social security number, though, so I think we will have to go to the office. Luckily, there is one really close by.

Good luck to everyone else, Sorry we don't have internet so I only check once a day really quickly.

[arianak 0]

Hi Pnewton! Our situation was VERY similar to yours (together 5 years, a few here, a few long distance, i went back to do a Masters, etc). We also were going to do the fiance visa but ended up doing a CR1 (we are waiting for our interview date). We didn't do the fiance visa bc we didnt love the idea of being forced to get married within 90 days in the states, and then all the tramites and fees once we did. we figured we would jump the hoops now (in our slow quiet mexican life), you know?And I really wanted him to be able to work and drive right away. So I think you are definitely taking the right route. We did a civil ceremony here (it was actually hilarious! we live in a small town and the lady who performed it said the crazies stuff about women being the weak part of the man! it was a great experience! we will celebrate later, as you guys can too...)

My only advice for the first stage would be to turn your 130 in IN PERSON(a few people had theirs lost, and it seems to take longer). make sure your marriage cert is translated, and bring at least 2 recibos in your name (I brought some really informal stuff from the guy who delivers our water and Comex!)But that seems to be the important part for DCF, proving you really live here. (and I'm assuming your have your FM3/2?). Get the direct number to where you turned it in and call within the week.

Anyway, so great to have you here! I would have never made it this far without all the great people on this site, and would love to return the favor. So ask away;-)

Hello again everyone,

Thank you so much for your quick responses! They were definitely helpful and it looks like we're going to still try and go through with the CR-1 visa! You were right, Jaremedios, about only having to be here in person to turn in the I-130! Today, I called the US consulate here in Monterrey and they confirmed that I could go after turning that in.

The other great thing that they told me is that the visa process is moving faster than the usual 6-8 months (as you mentioned, Marisol and Jilly and Danny). The guy I talked with was very nice and told me that they are trying to process the immigrant visas as quickly as they could, due to the heightened security situation. He said to expect about 4 months (yay!).

The funny thing was that when I called, I kept referring to the visa as the "DCF process" and no one knew what I was talking about! I got transferred around to a few different departments, and the man that helped me in the end said that they just call it the "immigrant visa" or the "marriage visa" around there! Luckily, I finally got through and ended up having a nice conversation with the agent. It was a relief to feel like the people there were really working to be of service to the American citizens here Hopefully our experience continues to go well!

Also, I did some email lobbying this morning with Migration to find out when our marriage permission is ready and lo and behold, it worked! I emailed the Regional Delegate (who was listed on INM's page of contacts) and she got back to me immediately and informed me that our permission was ready to be picked up! Incredible, I know! I'm sure if I hadn't called, the status of the permission would have gone on unresolved for some time yet. So, tomorrow we'll pick it up and hopefully get this process moving.

At this point, we're going to see how quickly everything moves, but it looks like I'll be getting ready to go sooner rather than later! My fiance and I are excited to start this new phase of our lives, but it's also sad to leave the city earlier than we had expected. However, with everything that is going on here, we know it's for the best now. I'll certainly keep you all updated as we move through the process..and also, I completely agree with your past comments about Ciudad Juarez--why oh why are they continuing to have the mandatory interviews there?! I might inquire about it when we turn in our papers...

Oh--and a quick question regarding a post you put up earlier, Marisol! According to the list of things that they need when you turn in the papers, I saw that you need to translate any documents that are in Spanish to English...This is usually just the marriage certificate, as it looks like we can just turn in my fiance's passport for his identication? I'm just imagining a situation where we head to the office and then realize that something else needs to be translated!

Phew, I wrote a lot...! Thanks again for all of your help, everyone!

[arianak 0]

Hey ladies, so a letter arrived at my mom's in California yesterday from CDJ saying something like, "due to heavy workload, they will not be able to tell us our interview date for at least 2-3 months.'" anyone else received anything like this? I'm wondering if things are slowing down or if thats just their way of saying don't bother us, we'll get to you.

Thanks!

[Marisol73 0]

Hey ladies, so a letter arrived at my mom's in California yesterday from CDJ saying something like, "due to heavy workload, they will not be able to tell us our interview date for at least 2-3 months.'" anyone else received anything like this? I'm wondering if things are slowing down or if thats just their way of saying don't bother us, we'll get to you.

Thanks!

WOW !.. I hope is only to keep us away from calling and sending e-mail inquiries...

I havent received that letter in my Houston address.. but we have very similar dates in packet 3 sent..so I think I would receive the same letter soon.

[LaGringa 0]

Hi, amiguitas!

First, I want to thank you for all your help. Today I sent packet 3. I'm so afraid I forgot something important. I hope not!

Welcome, pnewton! I don't know about the fiance visa, but DCF seems to be quick. By the way, it's not actually called DCF, so when talking to the consulate say you want to petition your husband. I see you already called. They are nice here in Monterrey, you have to file in person, and you can pay cash. You only have to translate the marriage certificate. About the bills as proof of residence, I took bank statements since the utilities are in my husband's name. I also took one bill with his name. That's all I remember right now.

Ariana, did they send you a letter just to tell you that? Do they send this to everybody or is this new?? So they'll tell you when the appointment is in 2-3 months? Or will the appointment take 2-3 months?

[pnewton 0]

Hi again everyone--

Thanks for all the comments! First off, let me quickly update you...I went to Migracion today and picked up the permiso. And just for future reference for anyone that might ever have to deal with Monterrey Migration, I was really pleased with how easy it was to contact the delegate and just ask her to speed it up. I think she responded more quickly to the emails I sent her than the time I spent waiting in the "Informes" line at the actual place! Seriously, she responded to a few different emails within minutes!! Anyway, so I picked up the permiso and it felt good to check off one item from the ever-growing to do list regarding all of this paperwork!

Also, I called the civil registry and was not too pleased that they failed to notify me before that we need to have "Examenes prenupciales" done (blood tests) before getting married. I had no idea and they failed to mention that the other two times I called in the past month to double-check on the requirements. Supposedly, you're supposed to wait 15 days between the tests and your marriage, but I told her we're in a bit of an urgent situation and she didn't mention the time requirement. I hope they don't make a big deal about it later! But tomorrow we're going to go and get our blood drawn for these tests and meanwhile, my mother-in-law is helping us out by doing some of the legwork at the civil registry while we're at work. It's kinda hard to run around do these errands when you have full work days!

We're hoping that we can pull together all of the necessary paperwork by Friday and maybe-maybe-maybe schedule our ceremeony for at some point this weekend. Fingers crossed! Speaking of which, Ariana, it really does sound like you guys are in the same boat as us! We didn't like the idea of the stress of doing the civil marriage upon arrival in the States and then doing the adjustment of status either. And likewise, we're just zipping through everything here, and we want our big, special wedding once all the dust settles and we settled in the States. Actually, I have a few questions for you and whoever else might be able to help:

1. Did you do anything special in particular for your civil ceremony? We're just planning on keeping it really simple--having just close family members there and going out for dinner afterwards. But I'm just concerned about whether it needs to perhaps look "fancier" than what we're planning, in case they want to look at the pictures at the US Consulate? We'll take a few pictures, but because we want our wedding down the road to be the truly special one with everyone there, we weren't planning on making this one a big deal. Do you think that's ok? And also, here's my really silly question...what to wear and does it even matter? My fiance and I were planning on just being somewhat dressed up--floral print dress for me and dress clothes for him--but I had a fleeting thought that maybe they'd want to see something more formal? Ahh, I feel ridiculous for even asking, but whenever you have to go through these slightly nerve-wracking processes, you just want everything to go smoothly!

2. Also, do we have to turn in "proof" of our relationship at any point? I had heard about this before and that lots of couple freak out about what to turn in, and when I talked with the consulate here, they didn't mention it. We definitely have a ton of pictures, emails and plane tickets from the past 5 years, but I don't know if we need to turn any of this in?

3. Regarding the proof of address, when I talked with the man at the consulate, I explained to him that all of our house utilities are actually in my fiance's grandfather's name, as we're renting his grandparents' old home. He told me not to worry and that according to him, the name on the bill didn't matter--that they really just use it to double-check the address you put down on the application and make sure there are no mistakes. Hmmm...! This seems to be not what other people are told, and I'm just wondering if maybe the person I talked to was really laid-back, but what if someone else processes the papers? I think I could get bank statements (although I don't think Bancomer has ever sent me much!) and I do have my paycheck stubs and maybe something Telmex could print up for me having an account with them--could those count? I'll probably email the consulate about this one and see if someone answers me differently than the one I talked with.

Another quick question relating to this...the address that I always put for my FM3 is where I first lived when I came here--at my boyfriend's family house, because that's where I was living when I got the FM3. Do you think I need to be consistent and put down the same address for this process, too?

Ok, ok, I think those are all of my questions for now! Ahh, there's only much you can tackle in one day! Have a good night, everyone and thanks again for everything!

P.S. I really hope that things don't get delayed for you guys at Ciudad Juarez! I wonder if they sent out those letters because maybe they fell behind when they closed for those few weeks this summer?

[Marisol73 0]

Hello .. I will answer your questions as I think or as I did ok? but maybe someone has different adivces

1. Did you do anything special in particular for your civil ceremony? We're just planning on keeping it really simple--having just close family members there and going out for dinner afterwards. But I'm just concerned about whether it needs to perhaps look "fancier" than what we're planning, in case they want to look at the pictures at the US Consulate? We'll take a few pictures, but because we want our wedding down the road to be the truly special one with everyone there, we weren't planning on making this one a big deal. Do you think that's ok? And also, here's my really silly question...what to wear and does it even matter? My fiance and I were planning on just being somewhat dressed up--floral print dress for me and dress clothes for him--but I had a fleeting thought that maybe they'd want to see something more formal? Ahh, I feel ridiculous for even asking, but whenever you have to go through these slightly nerve-wracking processes, you just want everything to go smoothly!

We got married in the "Registro Civil" office, we did not dressed with white dress and suit..just dressed "nice" for the ocassion, because we have lived together for two years before married, we even have a baby, we both had previous marriages (and of course divorces), so we did that just to cover the requirement, but we were fine living together without marriage, so I think if the consular officer ask me why we did not have a big wedding I will just explain the true. And of course ...we took some pictures of the event.

2. Also, do we have to turn in "proof" of our relationship at any point? I had heard about this before and that lots of couple freak out about what to turn in, and when I talked with the consulate here, they didn't mention it. We definitely have a ton of pictures, emails and plane tickets from the past 5 years, but I don't know if we need to turn any of this in?

the proof of Bonafide marriage is mentioned in the I-130 instructions. So I think you can add them when you file the I-130 in Monterrey. They after approval will send all to Cd Juarez. Sometimes in the interview in Cd Juarez they asked for more evidence. So be sure you bring more evidence the day of the interview.(just in case)

3. Regarding the proof of address, when I talked with the man at the consulate, I explained to him that all of our house utilities are actually in my fiance's grandfather's name, as we're renting his grandparents' old home. He told me not to worry and that according to him, the name on the bill didn't matter--that they really just use it to double-check the address you put down on the application and make sure there are no mistakes. Hmmm...! This seems to be not what other people are told, and I'm just wondering if maybe the person I talked to was really laid-back, but what if someone else processes the papers? I think I could get bank statements (although I don't think Bancomer has ever sent me much!) and I do have my paycheck stubs and maybe something Telmex could print up for me having an account with them--could those count? I'll probably email the consulate about this one and see if someone answers me differently than the one I talked with.

I was asked for bills on my name. I submit Nextel & Cable receipts (the 3 last months of each. I think they were to prove that I live in Mexico, but Im not sure. I think bank statements are OK, if you dont have the originals just ask for a print out in the Bank but make sure they stamp it. If paycheck stubs have your name and address also will be fine. (the officers in Monterrey Consulate do not seem to be very strict).

Another quick question relating to this...the address that I always put for my FM3 is where I first lived when I came here--at my boyfriend's family house, because that's where I was living when I got the FM3. Do you think I need to be consistent and put down the same address for this process, too?

Im not sure about this because of my dual citizenship I dont need a FM3, but If you put the address of your boyfriend's family..will you be able to have proof of address in your name?

Note:

You will need all documents and forms in original and one copy. I had the two packages (one for the originals, one for copies) when I went to Monterrey Consulate. First they asked for the originals and made a quick view, then they returned all to me and ask me for the documents one by one (the copies).

Good luck.

[arianak 0]

Hi Pnewton! Marisol said what I would have...I wore a floral dress and he wore slacks and a nice shirt. we took pictures during (someone had our camera) and at lunch. I think with all the other "proof of a bonafide relationship", that will be enough come the time of the interview (which is when, if ever, you will need most of it). We did put in our 130 packet some stuff like emails, joint bank stuff, and an affadavit from my mom. I don't know how necessary it was...

I wouldn't worry about your FM3 address...and if they didnt seem worry about bills, just bring one or two things just in case, as i said even something as informal as a reciept from a purchase (I did get a letter from our Ayuntamiento, it cost $40 and just said that I live here!)

So glad you are getting excited ;-) it's a super exciting process....at least i think so!

PS- the letter from CDJ also just came as an email response to my question about our interview date....it says the same thing! 2-3 months until they can give me a date. for some reason i have a feeling we will know sooner.....

Hello .. I will answer your questions as I think or as I did ok? but maybe someone has different adivces

1. Did you do anything special in particular for your civil ceremony? We're just planning on keeping it really simple--having just close family members there and going out for dinner afterwards. But I'm just concerned about whether it needs to perhaps look "fancier" than what we're planning, in case they want to look at the pictures at the US Consulate? We'll take a few pictures, but because we want our wedding down the road to be the truly special one with everyone there, we weren't planning on making this one a big deal. Do you think that's ok? And also, here's my really silly question...what to wear and does it even matter? My fiance and I were planning on just being somewhat dressed up--floral print dress for me and dress clothes for him--but I had a fleeting thought that maybe they'd want to see something more formal? Ahh, I feel ridiculous for even asking, but whenever you have to go through these slightly nerve-wracking processes, you just want everything to go smoothly!

We got married in the "Registro Civil" office, we did not dressed with white dress and suit..just dressed "nice" for the ocassion, because we have lived together for two years before married, we even have a baby, we both had previous marriages (and of course divorces), so we did that just to cover the requirement, but we were fine living together without marriage, so I think if the consular officer ask me why we did not have a big wedding I will just explain the true. And of course ...we took some pictures of the event.

2. Also, do we have to turn in "proof" of our relationship at any point? I had heard about this before and that lots of couple freak out about what to turn in, and when I talked with the consulate here, they didn't mention it. We definitely have a ton of pictures, emails and plane tickets from the past 5 years, but I don't know if we need to turn any of this in?

the proof of Bonafide marriage is mentioned in the I-130 instructions. So I think you can add them when you file the I-130 in Monterrey. They after approval will send all to Cd Juarez. Sometimes in the interview in Cd Juarez they asked for more evidence. So be sure you bring more evidence the day of the interview.(just in case)

3. Regarding the proof of address, when I talked with the man at the consulate, I explained to him that all of our house utilities are actually in my fiance's grandfather's name, as we're renting his grandparents' old home. He told me not to worry and that according to him, the name on the bill didn't matter--that they really just use it to double-check the address you put down on the application and make sure there are no mistakes. Hmmm...! This seems to be not what other people are told, and I'm just wondering if maybe the person I talked to was really laid-back, but what if someone else processes the papers? I think I could get bank statements (although I don't think Bancomer has ever sent me much!) and I do have my paycheck stubs and maybe something Telmex could print up for me having an account with them--could those count? I'll probably email the consulate about this one and see if someone answers me differently than the one I talked with.

I was asked for bills on my name. I submit Nextel & Cable receipts (the 3 last months of each. I think they were to prove that I live in Mexico, but Im not sure. I think bank statements are OK, if you dont have the originals just ask for a print out in the Bank but make sure they stamp it. If paycheck stubs have your name and address also will be fine. (the officers in Monterrey Consulate do not seem to be very strict).

Another quick question relating to this...the address that I always put for my FM3 is where I first lived when I came here--at my boyfriend's family house, because that's where I was living when I got the FM3. Do you think I need to be consistent and put down the same address for this process, too?

Im not sure about this because of my dual citizenship I dont need a FM3, but If you put the address of your boyfriend's family..will you be able to have proof of address in your name?

Note:

You will need all documents and forms in original and one copy. I had the two packages (one for the originals, one for copies) when I went to Monterrey Consulate. First they asked for the originals and made a quick view, then they returned all to me and ask me for the documents one by one (the copies).

Good luck.

[Jilly and Danny 0]

Hi again everyone--

Thanks for all the comments! First off, let me quickly update you...I went to Migracion today and picked up the permiso. And just for future reference for anyone that might ever have to deal with Monterrey Migration, I was really pleased with how easy it was to contact the delegate and just ask her to speed it up. I think she responded more quickly to the emails I sent her than the time I spent waiting in the "Informes" line at the actual place! Seriously, she responded to a few different emails within minutes!! Anyway, so I picked up the permiso and it felt good to check off one item from the ever-growing to do list regarding all of this paperwork!

Also, I called the civil registry and was not too pleased that they failed to notify me before that we need to have "Examenes prenupciales" done (blood tests) before getting married. I had no idea and they failed to mention that the other two times I called in the past month to double-check on the requirements. Supposedly, you're supposed to wait 15 days between the tests and your marriage, but I told her we're in a bit of an urgent situation and she didn't mention the time requirement. I hope they don't make a big deal about it later! But tomorrow we're going to go and get our blood drawn for these tests and meanwhile, my mother-in-law is helping us out by doing some of the legwork at the civil registry while we're at work. It's kinda hard to run around do these errands when you have full work days!

We're hoping that we can pull together all of the necessary paperwork by Friday and maybe-maybe-maybe schedule our ceremeony for at some point this weekend. Fingers crossed! Speaking of which, Ariana, it really does sound like you guys are in the same boat as us! We didn't like the idea of the stress of doing the civil marriage upon arrival in the States and then doing the adjustment of status either. And likewise, we're just zipping through everything here, and we want our big, special wedding once all the dust settles and we settled in the States. Actually, I have a few questions for you and whoever else might be able to help:

1. Did you do anything special in particular for your civil ceremony? We're just planning on keeping it really simple--having just close family members there and going out for dinner afterwards. But I'm just concerned about whether it needs to perhaps look "fancier" than what we're planning, in case they want to look at the pictures at the US Consulate? We'll take a few pictures, but because we want our wedding down the road to be the truly special one with everyone there, we weren't planning on making this one a big deal. Do you think that's ok? And also, here's my really silly question...what to wear and does it even matter? My fiance and I were planning on just being somewhat dressed up--floral print dress for me and dress clothes for him--but I had a fleeting thought that maybe they'd want to see something more formal? Ahh, I feel ridiculous for even asking, but whenever you have to go through these slightly nerve-wracking processes, you just want everything to go smoothly!

2. Also, do we have to turn in "proof" of our relationship at any point? I had heard about this before and that lots of couple freak out about what to turn in, and when I talked with the consulate here, they didn't mention it. We definitely have a ton of pictures, emails and plane tickets from the past 5 years, but I don't know if we need to turn any of this in?

3. Regarding the proof of address, when I talked with the man at the consulate, I explained to him that all of our house utilities are actually in my fiance's grandfather's name, as we're renting his grandparents' old home. He told me not to worry and that according to him, the name on the bill didn't matter--that they really just use it to double-check the address you put down on the application and make sure there are no mistakes. Hmmm...! This seems to be not what other people are told, and I'm just wondering if maybe the person I talked to was really laid-back, but what if someone else processes the papers? I think I could get bank statements (although I don't think Bancomer has ever sent me much!) and I do have my paycheck stubs and maybe something Telmex could print up for me having an account with them--could those count? I'll probably email the consulate about this one and see if someone answers me differently than the one I talked with.

Another quick question relating to this...the address that I always put for my FM3 is where I first lived when I came here--at my boyfriend's family house, because that's where I was living when I got the FM3. Do you think I need to be consistent and put down the same address for this process, too?

Ok, ok, I think those are all of my questions for now! Ahh, there's only much you can tackle in one day! Have a good night, everyone and thanks again for everything!

P.S. I really hope that things don't get delayed for you guys at Ciudad Juarez! I wonder if they sent out those letters because maybe they fell behind when they closed for those few weeks this summer?

]

I see a couple people have already answered, but I thought I'd chime in anyway:

1 - We didn't do anything more than what you're planning for the civil ceremony. I wore a knee length white "tea" dress and he wore slacks and nice shirt. We took pictures and went out for dinner with his family afterward, but that was it. However, we had our church wedding in February and, of course, did the real wedding then. So we have pictures from both to take to our interview. We hadn't thought of it beforehand, it was just how it all worked out. But I think its perfectly legitimate to say you're waiting for the church wedding to really celebrate (after all, that's how most people do it here anyway).

2 - We turned in our I-130 packet in Mexico City, and we took as proof the rent contract we had specifically put in both our names, the church marriage certificate, and a joint bank account statement. All of which I offered when we turned in the packet and they weren't interested. They told us to save it for the interview. For the interview we are taking those, pictures, letters and cards addressed to both of us, and phone records from our house to my mom's house (showing I live here and call my mom). We honestly can't think of anything else we can take. We do have thousands of pictures, of which we are going to fill a 300 picture album with. If they ask for more, we figure we can always show them my pregnant belly.

3 - When you turn in your I130 packet they ask for a copy of your FM3. At least in DF that was enough to establish your residence here as it has to be updated yearly, and its hard to maintain a job here without residing here. My FM3 also has my first address, my husband's family home, which we haven't lived at for two years. So far it hasn't been an issue. My advice is to put the information everywhere they ask for as current and truthful as possible. My husband was also worried because he never changed his IFE address to our current one; it still shows his parents' house as well. They never said anything about that either. We figure in the biographical information where you have to list all your previous addresses it proves we did at one point live there. I wouldn't worry about any bills unless they ask you for them. We don't have any in both our names (proof of relationship) and none in my name (establishing residency) and it hasn't been a problem at all.

[jaremedios 1]

We made some steps to help have consistency in our process.

1. My husband got his IFE address changed to where we currently live (he also was using his parents' address). Although in the end, we only sent copies of his passport as it says "IFE card or Mexican passport".

2. We asked our landlord to rewrite our lease with both our names on it.

3. We got translated my husband's life insurance in which I am the beneficiary.

4. We have a child together so her birth certificate.

5. And I did just make 2 sheets of a collage of pics with captions from when we first met to us with our newborn daugther. I included pics of him with my family and me with his.

I don't know if it's much of an issue, but I would think that your FM3 should be updated with your most current address, esp. if you're using bills from the new address. (I, too, didn't include any bills nor was asked for any.) You can do a change of address at INM, and they don't charge anything. Just more paperwork. Again, I think consistency is the key to avoid more questions/doubts on their side.

Don't worry too much about the civil wedding. Even just 1 pic from the event is enough to show it happened in conjunction with the actual Marriage Certificate of course.

[EsperanzaXMyS 0]

Hola Everyone,

My name is Sarah and I am hoping to get some more information regarding DCF in Mexico!

My husband and I currently live in Guanajuato, Mexico. I have been living in Mexico for more than a year now and we were interviewing lawyers and she mentioned DCF. The I came across this forum and am glad to have found SO much information!!

I am pretty sure I file in Mexico City since that embassy has jurisdiction over GTO. I am wondering if it is best to send this by mail or in person????

I have an FM2 and I am ready to turn in the I-130 for my husband here in Mexico but wanted to make sure I knew all the details first about DCF.

Well just thought I would introduce myself and hopefully learn lots from all of your experiences!!

[Jilly and Danny 0]

Hola Everyone,

My name is Sarah and I am hoping to get some more information regarding DCF in Mexico!

My husband and I currently live in Guanajuato, Mexico. I have been living in Mexico for more than a year now and we were interviewing lawyers and she mentioned DCF. The I came across this forum and am glad to have found SO much information!!

I am pretty sure I file in Mexico City since that embassy has jurisdiction over GTO. I am wondering if it is best to send this by mail or in person????

I have an FM2 and I am ready to turn in the I-130 for my husband here in Mexico but wanted to make sure I knew all the details first about DCF.

Well just thought I would introduce myself and hopefully learn lots from all of your experiences!!

Hi Sarah -

We live in Yucatan and sent the I-130 form to Mexico City via DHL and it was "never received" then it was "received incomplete and returned to us" (which never actually returned to us and was never put into their system). Anyway after weeks and weeks of phone calls and different stories, we decided they lost our packet and had to redo the whole thing, which cost us a LOT of money. After that experience, we decided it was worth the money to fly there and turn it in ourselves, which was very fast, efficient, and was approved the following day and forwarded to Ciudad Juarez where we heard news from them four weeks later. I would DEFINATELY suggest doing it in person if at all possible.

good luck!

[jaremedios 1]

I think since you live close to Mexico City, if you don't mind the trip, just go in person. I sent it through Redpack from Oaxaca and it arrived the next day. I was able to check online with a tracking number that it was actually received at the Embassy. I just wasn't willing to make the trip to Mexico City.

[arianak 0]

Hi Sarah! So glad you found us;-) I also recommend turning in the 130 in person if it's not a big deal. But the packet 3 will have to be sent to CDJ via mail, the difference there is there won't be money in that packet! I just wanted to tell you that at first I thought you needed a lawyer to do this, but now I feel like not only do we not need a lawyer, we could help other in the process, as there is more than enough information on here to do it yourself (faster and cheaper and more responsibly!). Just my opinion, but I think many would share it. Either way, all the best of luck!

Ps- So no one else received that "2-3 month wait" letter from CDJ? ;-(